Many of the underlying themes in Machiavelli's the prince can be seen throughout the history of the united states. Machiavelli states that in order for a prince to maintain his power, he must avoid the hatred of his people. He warns that the people’s hatred may result in the prince’s downfall. Only when a prince is sure that the people who hate him can never rise against him, can he cease to worry about the hatred of his subjects. Obtaining the goodwill of the people has nothing to do with the populace, but has everything to do with ensuring the prince’s stability. An example of this can be seen in King George III who once ruled the thirteen colonies, before our country became a free nation. King George III lost America on July 4th 1776 because he had exerted his powers to forcefully and ignored the people’s rights, thus earning the peoples hatred.
We can relate Machiavelli's arguments to our society today as well. A prevalent theme throughout is virtue of the prince. Machiavelli argues that a prince should always appear virtuous, but acting virtuously for virtue’s sake can damage the nation. He also explains that a prince should not avoid dishonesty or cruelty if it will benefit the state, and should only be used for means to an end. Reflecting upon our society, George W. Bush may be seen as a culprit of these principles. Many of American people believe that Bush employed dishonesty in his means for declaring war against Iraq, thus causing a great detriment to our nation.
Another argument that arises in the prince is that a strong standing army is crucial to a nation, this pops up often in our nations history several times. Looking back in history there was a great argument as to whether the U.S. should have a standing army. It was not until the constitutional convention that the military presence was initiated by each state. Before that, our military history came from the first militia that was organized by patriot rebels at the battle of Lexington and concord, which is truly significant because if this had never happened the revolutionary war might have turned out different. There has been a long history of distrust towards the "princes" power over a standing army. This is why we include Article 1 Section 6 and 8 in our constitution. Section six is a matter of checks and balances in which the executive branch cannot declare war, but the congress can.
Machiavelli explores the use of axillary troops in order to regain power as well. Reflecting upon our own nation this can be seen in the American revolution when the French offered to help the American's defeat the British and win their independence. Our success sparked inspiration for the bloody revolution in France. As a country we were very hesitant to fight in another war, because we had just come out of one, and we were still a very young nation. We knew neutrality was the best answer, so we decided not to help the French fight their revolution, because it was in America's best interest. At the time it was inconvenient for America at its current state to meddle in the affairs of Europe. If it were not for France's help in the American revolution we may not be the nation we are today, proving Machiavelli's point that auxiliary troops can be very useful in regaining power.
Analysis of the Prince's Arguments
Many of the underlying themes in Machiavelli's the prince can be seen throughout the history of the united states. Machiavelli states that in order for a prince to maintain his power, he must avoid the hatred of his people. He warns that the people’s hatred may result in the prince’s downfall. Only when a prince is sure that the people who hate him can never rise against him, can he cease to worry about the hatred of his subjects. Obtaining the goodwill of the people has nothing to do with the populace, but has everything to do with ensuring the prince’s stability. An example of this can be seen in King George III who once ruled the thirteen colonies, before our country became a free nation. King George III lost America on July 4th 1776 because he had exerted his powers to forcefully and ignored the people’s rights, thus earning the peoples hatred.
We can relate Machiavelli's arguments to our society today as well. A prevalent theme throughout is virtue of the prince. Machiavelli argues that a prince should always appear virtuous, but acting virtuously for virtue’s sake can damage the nation. He also explains that a prince should not avoid dishonesty or cruelty if it will benefit the state, and should only be used for means to an end. Reflecting upon our society, George W. Bush may be seen as a culprit of these principles. Many of American people believe that Bush employed dishonesty in his means for declaring war against Iraq, thus causing a great detriment to our nation.
Another argument that arises in the prince is that a strong standing army is crucial to a nation, this pops up often in our nations history several times. Looking back in history there was a great argument as to whether the U.S. should have a standing army. It was not until the constitutional convention that the military presence was initiated by each state. Before that, our military history came from the first militia that was organized by patriot rebels at the battle of Lexington and concord, which is truly significant because if this had never happened the revolutionary war might have turned out different. There has been a long history of distrust towards the "princes" power over a standing army. This is why we include Article 1 Section 6 and 8 in our constitution. Section six is a matter of checks and balances in which the executive branch cannot declare war, but the congress can.
Machiavelli explores the use of axillary troops in order to regain power as well. Reflecting upon our own nation this can be seen in the American revolution when the French offered to help the American's defeat the British and win their independence. Our success sparked inspiration for the bloody revolution in France. As a country we were very hesitant to fight in another war, because we had just come out of one, and we were still a very young nation. We knew neutrality was the best answer, so we decided not to help the French fight their revolution, because it was in America's best interest. At the time it was inconvenient for America at its current state to meddle in the affairs of Europe. If it were not for France's help in the American revolution we may not be the nation we are today, proving Machiavelli's point that auxiliary troops can be very useful in regaining power.
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